long week

last week was LONG. cj sick, kaetlyn sick, kati sick... and no time for mommy to be sick. i think we're coming out the other side of it now though.... thank GOD! cj was not feeling well almost the entire month of july. first was croupy bronchial infection then cruddy eyes, runny nose, etc. kaetlyn had a stomach bug in the beginning of july and then began complaining about it again last tuesday. i took her to the dr on wednesday morning and when all possible issues were ruled out, i decided that kaetlyn and i should have a fun day to ourselves so we went to see toy story 3.... i cried like a baby... i was so happy she was sitting on my lap and couldn't see the tears streaming as andy gave up his toys to go to college... oh boy! what is wrong with me?? LOL

me and kaetlyn holding hands in the movies

this past weekend was our last weekend at home for a while and it was a long one. wish my sore throat would go away! yesterday we celebrated jaxon's 4th birthday with the clemments' family. the kids swam and ate cake and had a great time. i hope the fatigue will pass, as this week at work is a busy one. it does end with a weekend at mud buddy's for camping and riding! HOORAY!

kaetlyn at the birthday party

cj enjoying the cake!!

weekend fun

we had a fun time last weekend. we're out of town so many weekends, it's almost a treat to stay around the house and participate in austin-type events. friday night we went to terra burger, which is a drive through organic burger place that has a big playground, including sprinkler fun. both kiddos loved it! on saturday night we went to the round rock express game. pictures can be viewed here: http://tractionracing.shutterfly.com/pictures/2472

spoon success!

up until yesterday, cj was not successful with spoon usage. he would hold the spoon in one hand and shovel in the food with the other... or use the spoon as a slingshot to fling his bowl around the table... dinner time is messy! my table will never recover. last night, though he was extremely proficient in scooping the rice onto the spoon and making it into his mouth. i'm so proud!! interestingly, he uses his right hand. almost everything else, he does with his left. perhaps we have an ambidextrian on our hands. :)

follow up picture of kaetlyn's pigtails. this morning, we did pigtails again. let's see if they're still in place when i pick her up today.

this has been a long week, and i am so happy it's friday. tonight me and the kiddos are meeting friends for dinner and tomorrow night our riding buddies are joining us in the suite at the Round Rock Express game. Hopefully we'll get some riding in on Sunday as well. Fun weekend ahead!

the world according to kaetlyn

kaetlyn got her own 'cramra' for christmas. it is digital and holds around 400 pictures. it was full, so i uploaded her pics today.


my little girl is growing up. today she actually asked for pigtails.... progress!

last night she wanted 'blackbird' to be 'blue fish'. as i started to sing she said, 'blue fish can't have broken wings' so we changed it to 'blue terradactyl.' funny funny kid.

ET phone Kaetlyn

this week the kids are learning about space and astronauts and planets and such.... so kaetlyn and i started talking about aliens on the way home from school. the conversation transpired into kaetlyn telling me she wanted et to come to 'our earth'. so i told her that he was with his family on his planet, but maybe when we got home daddy would help her call him on the phone. lol. or so it would seem. not so great move, mom. the entire night she was obsessed with talking to et on the phone. fortunately, right at bedtime our buddy fred called and pretended to be et while she talked to him on speaker phone. he did a fantastic job! how her eyes were sparkling and she was laughing and so happy. cute stuff. first thing this morning she asked me if we could call et again! i was able to distract her with the movie.... ah... the things we do for love. many thanks to fred for saving the day! hopefully he won't mind playing the part a few more times if needed.

green bird

sometimes at bedtime is sing 'blackbird' by the beatles to kaetlyn as a lullaby. now, she's changing the song so everytime she asks me to sing about a different color bird. last night was 'greenbird'. LOL

here's a pic from kaetlyn this morning before school - it is baseball cap day.

phone pics

you can see that cj's spoon is getting used very effectively!
playing in the sprinkler is cause for great amusement and fun

kaetlyn's first real attempt at writing her name... pretty good i think!

bathtime is always a treat!

tough times

cj is usually pretty laid back and easy going. he's had a little cold and molars coming in, so all he wants is mommy! i'm fortunate to be so loved....

every day he is adding more words to his repertoire: bye bye, bird, ball... the list is growing and growing. balls are his most favorite thing ever!! (except for maybe 4 wheelers) he's got a hilarious sense of humor and we can't wait till he can communicate his thoughts. fun times ahead! he's started shaking his head. waving his arms, and saying 'uh uh' when he doesn't want to do something. all we can do is laugh!

set me free mom

a couple weeks ago, kaeltyn was watching her newest dinosaur movie. she asked if i would come watch it with her, so we curled up together on the couch. after a few minutes, the following conversation occurred:

k: mom, you want me?
me: yes, of course i always want you
k: ... oh, ok... mom, when are you gonna set me free?
me: ur, um.. you're free.. i thought we were snuggling... you don't want to snuggle? you want to be free?
k: yeah, so i can breathe.

WOW! i had a flash forward about 12 years. what a girl.

another cute one: she really likes bob marley's song 'three little birds' but has created her own lyrics, which don't really make sense but are pretty cute. in galveston she was standing on a kitchen chair dancing and singing. dyllan was cracking up! her words are, 'i'm walrus; i'm out of bed.'

mid-july already!

the mendelson cousins
cj and logan at aidan's birthday

beach bum cj

sand princess kaetlyn

let's see... fun-filled and action packed doesn't begin to describe the whirl wind that is our life. we're having a blast and the kiddos are growing before my eyes. kaetlyn is perpetually hysterical... the things that come out of her mouth continue to amuse craig and i... i just don't know where she gets some of the stuff. there are so many funny stories that i mentally note to include here, but right now tiredness is interfering with my memory! hate that.

cj is full on walking. we are spending a lot of time playing chase. he's like a tornado and into everything. so far this month we have:

7/3 - spent the 4th weekend in Houston & celebrated Aidan's 4th birthday

7/11 - went to Galveston for a long weekend with the Mendelson crew

we will finish up the month with birthday parties, a trip to bud buddy's, and some family portraits!! august will be here before we know it.

"dum"

so, we read before bedtime. on of the books we're recently started reading is, "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" or as kaetlyn calls it "Dum." :) so very cute. if you don't know the book, she calls it this because the monkeys drum on the drum - dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum....

4th of july was fun. barbara, randy, rachel and alyx came to visit and we went to milburn park to watch the firworks. kaetlyn had a great time! she ran around, i showed her how to roll down the hill we were sitting on, and she adopted a chihuahua from the blanket next to us. the fireworks didn't start until 9:30, so by the time they began, she was exhausted and fell asleep within the first 10 minutes!

today i shot some pics of kaetlyn on the way to school. i am so extremely blessed and lucky! i was feeling grateful of my view in the rear view on the way to work each morning! cute stuff...

long long long overdue part I - july

so, much has happened in the past couple months, and i have been scrambling to keep up. i'm not sure if i mentioned that i got a promotion at work and life has been crazy ever since. craig is doing well in getting his career going as well! and next weekend is kaetlyns 1st birthday!! can't believe where the time as gone.... she's such a big girl now. she walks and talks... hi and uh-oh are her favorite words. she's smiley and happy (usually) and SO much fun....

first, we'll start with july...

toward the end of july we went to galveston with my dad, megan, nicole, robbie, taryn and the boys. the perkins also met us for the day on saturday! we had fun. here are some pics from that trip:

our cutie

it won't stop raining!!!!

i think the title says it all! we've been pretty home bound the past few weeks, as the rain keeps on coming and coming and coming!!! i've been busy with work (as usual) and craig has taken a temporary job at att for the next month or so. kaetlyn is getting around very well, although i wouldn't exactly call it a crawl... knees are not involved in the movement, but she's quick and all over the place nonetheless. she's also standing a lot and cruising from one piece of furniture to the next.... 9 months old! it seems like the blink of an eye. at her 9 month appointment she weighed 20 lb 15 oz and was 28 inches long. mimi came to visit and they really enjoyed playing together and reading books. mimi did a great job of keeping kaetlyn happy in the car, which has become quite a challenge lately!

here are some more pics of our girl from the past couple weeks:

more coming soon....